When the board of directors of the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association met to establish their objectives for 2018 and 2019, members decided on two distinct goals: a more visible location for the association and a place where visitors could get all their information for downtown Hattiesburg in one spot.
Mission accomplished with the Downtown Visitors Center, which opened in October on the first floor of the America Building, 112 East Front Street in downtown.
“We’re partnering with VisitHattiesburg to really kind of create a place where anybody who’s visiting downtown Hattiesburg can come get information,” HHDA Executive Director Andrea Saffle said. “You can find out where the restaurants are and what there is to do when you’re downtown.
“We’ve heard that a lot, when people come downtown and ask who’s open, where is there to go and what there is to do.”
The Downtown Visitors Center offers several brochures – including some from the Saenger Theater, the Hattiesburg Arts Council, the Hattiesburg Zoo and Oddfellows Gallery – along with downtown maps and T-shirts. Saffle also has moved her office, which was previously located in the Hattiesburg Cultural Center on Main Street, into the center.
“I don’t really have regular business hours yet,” Saffle said. “By the first of the year, we hope to set up a schedule and have volunteers help me staff it so it can be open Monday through Saturday with regular hours.
“People can come in when I’m there – I’m there Monday through Friday, but just not with set hours. I still access to use the space in the Cultural Center whenever I need it, but this was a more visible location so I can set up closer to the businesses downtown. Hopefully that will continue have them feel like I’m part of what they do.”
The space got its start in 2013 when developer Rob Tatum renovated the America and Carter buildings – collectively known as the Hub City Lofts – and needed a community outreach space. Former HHDA executive director Betsy Rowell worked with Tatum to provide the space, and for the past five years the spot has been used by the Hattiesburg Arts Council for open studio space.
“We thought the lease (on the space) was just a five-year deal, because I didn’t have a copy of the lease,” Saffle said. “So we found the lease and realized that it goes through 2020, so I’ve got two more years on it.
“So we thought that was a perfect place – it’s in the America building, and it’s a really cool space.”
In the two months the center has been open, it’s proven to be a popular attraction among business owners and visitors.
“At first it was the businesses downtown that enjoy me being there and being able to connect better,” Saffle said. “But this past week, I’ve had quite a few people pop in that have either seen it on Facebook or just from walking around. Somebody that was interested in some apartments came by and was asking questions, so I think this is going to work, and this is why we’re here.”
